1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to systems and methods of signature extraction applied to the identification and verification of pharmaceuticals. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to an intelligent computational system that extracts signatures from the spectra of pharmaceuticals contained in a vial using methods of signal processing and spectral analysis.
2. Background Information
In recent years, pharmacists' dispensing accuracy has become a rising issue throughout the country, especially in high-volume pharmacy settings (e.g., retail and hospitals). A dispensing error occurs when a patient is dispensed a medicine other than what is prescribed to him. A dispensing error could injure or kill a patient. Reducing the dispensing error rate is a critical factor in pharmacy risk management. It is desirable to have an instrument that can automatically validate dispensed pharmaceuticals with high accuracy and efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,395 (the “395 patent”) to Stephen T. Kaye et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a rapid pharmaceutical identification system. A Raman spectrometer measures the spectrum of a pharmaceutical in a vial, with no need of opening the vial cap. The collected spectrum is matched against a database that contains a plurality of spectral signatures corresponding to known pharmaceuticals. Based on the matching results, the system validates whether the vial contains the pharmaceutical consistent with the prescription (i.e., a scanned barcode).
The 395 patent has a detailed description of a sensor and system framework, and a brief description of the algorithmic methods of matching the collected spectrum to the spectral signature database. For example, the 395 patent lists several algorithms used to achieve this match including a correlation search and a first derivative search. The 395 patent also explains that the sensor identifies the tablets with the spectra in database that correlates with the best match.
In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for additional systems and methods that can advantageously match the collected spectrum to the spectral signature database of a pharmaceutical identification and verification system.